Family Pic

Christmas Cookies

It is tradition at my in-laws to make christmas cookies every year.  So saturday night was the night.  Aiden started out great but then he got really tired of rolling out dough and making shapes.  But he came running back to the kitchen when I mentioned frosting!  But after he figured out sprinkles are fun he was done with the frosting.  One of his cookies got an entire bottle of sprinkles on it.  He had a lot of fun and got mad at us when we had to take the sprinkles away from him.  My mother-in-law couldnt believe that I didnt want to eat his lovely creations and said how sad it was that we didnt want to take them home with us.  They did come home with us but Todd or I couldnt eat them because they were so beautiful!!!!  The funny thing is that when Aiden went to eat one of them, he couldnt do it either!!!!  But nevertheless, we had so much fun and I love this tradition!

Aiden's cookies

My cookies

First time to make...

...a gingerbread house.  We had so much fun putting this together.  Next year I will construct the house before I bring Aiden in to help me because all he wanted to do was eat the icing.  But I have to say I thought the icing was going to be way too sugary and too much like cake frosting to want to eat a whole bunch of it, but to my surprise it was like cinnamon roll icing.  It was yummy!  My dog enjoyed some of it too because I was letting the house set for the 15 minutes called for before you start decorating and she got up there and ate my little gingerbread people and the gingerbread tree.  So I happened to have this little gingerbread guy in my cabinet and we decided he could use a home.  They gave us plenty of candy and glad for that because I think Aiden ate more candy than candy that made it to the house!  But we had a great time!

Thankful

So since it is Thanksgiving I thought I might post what I am thankful for.  I am thankful for my saviors ultimate sacrifice for my sins.  He laid it all down for us that we could chose life and His grace is given freely even though I don't deserve it.  I am thankful for my husband and my son.  God has truly blessed me with a wonderful husband and child.  I look over our years together and see how much I have been blessed and there is nothing more fulfilling than being a mother.  I am so thankful that I will always have the title of mother to hold.  I am thankful for rest of our family.  Life truly is short and family matters most.  I am very blessed to have such wonderful parents and an awesome sister.  Todd's family is pretty great as well!  Then there are my friends and it is true that our friends are the family we choose.  I have some great old friends that I am so blessed and thankful that we have stayed friends for as long as we have.  Its nice to have friends to lean on when I need them.  Then I have made some really great new friends lately that I am so thankful for.  There are so many wonderful people in my life and it is such a blessing.  I am thankful for our troops and the service they give to our country.  I am thankful for a nation where I am free to express my religious beliefs.  I am thankful for my job.  Thank you to the Lord of my life for all the blessings you have poured out.  Every great thing is from Him.

Surgery

Sorry no blackmail pictures of Todd in his neck brace to post but a thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. The surgery went well and Todd finally got over the anesthesia. He is up walking and doing great. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who have been so great. Thank you to every one for your prayers and sweet emails. I am very thankful for a God who hears our prayers and comforts us and provides us with amazing surgeons, doctors, and medicine. I believe all it takes from Him is a healing touch, but I also believe he equipped people to be great surgeons, doctors and to create healing medicine! What an awesome God. Thank you to all of you who brought dinner or offered to bring dinner or help in anyway you could. We are so grateful!
Todd and Kristen

Ladies Retreat

This past weekend was a wonderful ladies retreat hosted by FBCO at the Post Oak Lodge in Tulsa. I have been needing a good refresher for a while. I have been battling so much lately and have felt so alone. God knows exactly what we need when we need it. My sister came along with me but unfortunately she got sick. She ended up having to leave early Saturday morning and missing most of the retreat. My mom was there and I always enjoy seeing her and I know she is always there for advice when I need it and I am sure she loves to see me doing something and learning rather than complaining to her! I also got to spend some time with some of my newest really good friends. It is so wonderful to have so many wonderful friends that I not only go to church with but can connect with on a deeper level. I will tell you that I wanted to be so broken by God this weekend to show me how to get out of my pit and it wasnt until I got home and talked to my really good girl friend who does not go to our church but is my accountability partner that I broke. God so deeply spoke to my soul that I have to fill myself with so much of Him that it will pour from me and then and only then will I be able to love myself and others the way He wants me to. It is about loving well and you can only love well when you have dipped into the Loving Well and then and only then will I be able to love well. Make sense!!! I need to let Him lead and be my comfort and my rock. He is the only one who can provide for all my needs. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was letting satan come and steal my joy and rob me of what the Lord was blessing me with. Thank you Lord for meeting me there and showing me how to love well.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Phyllis (Nana)! Phyllis is such a wonderful mom #2. As I am sure most you know Phyllis didnt get to bear children of her own, but for some reason God chose us to be here children. I am not so sure that she is the one who was blessed but us instead. And now she is a Nana! Which is the title she prefers most. She has always been so good to us even when it wasnt easy. She is a very good wife to my dad and that isnt always easy either (huh dad)!!! She loves our babies and they love and adore her. When we speak of Phyllis or Nana there is no step added because she is just as much a part of the family as any one! I hope your birthday is wondeful and you know how much you are loved and appreciated. Thank you for all you do for us. We love you!

Brady, the zoo, and no sleep

My sister kept Aiden for us while we went to Norman and enjoyed a great weekend with each other so we returned the favor for her and Brad to have some alone time together and kept Brady one Saturday night. Todd had a long day and was very tired when he got home from being gone all day, and Brady woke up at about 4 am and was a little unsure of where he was. When I went in to sooth him he pulled out the "hold you". I had no idea he could even say that. It was so sweet and I couldnt resist so I put him in bed with us. However Brady isnt the quietest sleeper or a still sleeper so Todd and I needless to say didnt make it to church the next morning. But we did decide since it was such a nice day to take the boys to the zoo. After eating their chocolate donughts and strawberry milk we headed to the zoo. Aiden loves to go and see all the animals and will tell you about them for weeks to come. Brady, not so much. He was just happy to be outside and free to rome where he pleased. They both had so much fun, but they were both plum tuckered out when we got back to the car.

Pumpkin Carving

We decided to carve a few pumpkins with Aiden this year. Todd and I carved one the first or second year after we were married but hadnt done one since so we decided Aiden might enjoy it so we better do it. So much for Aiden enjoying it. He played in the pumpkin guts for a bit and then was done. I got online and found some patterns and printed them out. Then I took a nail to the pumpkin to stencil it on them and then when Todd got home we went to town on them. Oh well if Aiden didnt so much enjoy it, I enjoyed carving with Todd.

Fall Festival

Batman Brady, who figured out to grab his cape and run with it!!! so cute!

Mommas need frog kisses too!

Decisions....Decisions what candy do I take?!?!?!?!

The frog and the Monkey~

This is my favorite picture of him. This smile sums up the entire evening!

Although it is really late in this picture his Memaw sure was glad she got to see the cutest tree frog ever!

We had so much fun at our Church's fall festival. Aiden was so excited and this was such a fun year because he understood everything about it. We started the evening out on the pony rides which was the one thing he didnt like and then we made it inside where all the fun that Aiden could possible have was awaiting him. We went to all the games first and he didnt quite understand a lot of them he just knew there was a candy dish waiting at the end for his little hands to snatch some of it out. We had to stop after every game played and let him discover a new piece of candy. We made it to the big boy inflateables and Todd made his way through it with him a few times and then Aiden was ready to go to the ones that were more his size. And this is where we spent the rest of our evening. Trying to get him off of the inflateables was the least fun and it made no sense to him of why you put him in it just to take him out of it! He was so hyped up on sugar and he just couldnt get enough candy.

Aiden did manage to get to see all his family. We saw my mom, sister and Batman Brady before the festival. Aidens Pops and Nana came and saw him at the church and after the festival was over we headed to tulsa and glenpool for Aiden to get to see his Aunts, Uncle, Cousins and his Memaw and Papa. We couldnt let the evening end without our families seeing the cutest tree frog ever!!!

However I am not sure that anything can top a polar bear dancing. Last year was fun too!